An Ocala man out on bond on domestic battery charges was re-arrested last Tuesday night when he was caught with an assortment of illegal drugs in his vehicle at Jervey Gantt Park.
Joshua Eugene Fanning, 38, of 37 Willow Road, was charged with possession of methamphetamine, felony possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug equipment, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of a harmful new legend drug without a prescription. He also had his bond revoked for a June 2019 arrest on charges of domestic battery by strangulation, simple battery, and domestic battery.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy observed a red vehicle sitting with its lights off in the parking lot of Jervy Gannt Park, located at 2080 SE 36th Ave. Upon seeing the deputy, Fanning sat up in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. He said he was waiting for his girlfriend, according to the sheriff’s office report.
A sheriff’s office K9 unit responded to the scene and a dog gave a positive alert for narcotics during a free air sniff of the vehicle. Fanning said he had a small amount of marijuana in a cigarette pack in the driver’s door, the report said.
A vehicle search turned up a marijuana cigarette in the driver’s door arm rest, as well as several syringes located throughout the vehicle. A pill bottle with Fanning’s girlfriend’s name was found stuffed between the passenger seat and the center console. The bottle contained 55 round pills with the markings “2355” and “V,” as well as seven blue capsules marked “M. Amphet Salt.” The deputy also found a clear tube containing a moist cotton swab and a pouch in the center console containing a blue pill bottle lid with another cotton swab, according to the report.
The swabs field-tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine. Using an online database, the deputy identified the white pills as acetaminophen, butalbital and caffeine, which are not controlled substances but require a prescription. The blue capsules were identified as amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which is listed as a schedule 2 controlled substance, the report said.
Fanning said the marijuana belonged to him and that he uses the syringes to inject methamphetamine. When asked about the cotton swabs, he said he uses them to filter the methamphetamine before injecting. He said the pills did not belong to him, according to the report.
Fanning was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he remains held on $38,000 bond. He’ll appear in Marion Court on Feb. 13 for the bond violations and March 3 for the drug charges.